OpenAI DevDay 2026: GPT-6.1 Sol, Dots, and Codex Cloud Explained

ChatGPT is an assistant app that helps you ask questions, create content, and work with text, images, and files.

OpenAI's DevDay 2026 keynote on September 29 was its biggest yet by the company's own count, with more than 20 announcements across models, ChatGPT, and developer tools. The through-line was delegation. OpenAI spent the event showing software that keeps working when you're not watching it: agents with ongoing responsibilities, cloud environments that persist, and a ChatGPT that other developers can build inside.

For anyone who uses the ChatGPT app on a phone, three announcements matter most. There's a new flagship model, GPT-6.1 Sol. There's Dots, a class of always-on agents. And there's Codex cloud, which lets coding tasks run remotely. Here's what each one actually does, stripped of the keynote gloss.

OpenAI DevDay 2026 at a Glance

DevDay 2026 happened on September 29, 2026. OpenAI framed the day around a phrase it repeated in its recap: giving people more ways to take on ambitious work. The company says it has 1.2 billion weekly users, and several announcements were about opening ChatGPT to developers as a shared surface rather than just a chatbot.

The headline items:

GPT-6.1 Sol: a major upgrade to GPT-6 Sol, positioned as near-Astra intelligence at a fifth of the token price
Dots: always-on agents that take on ongoing responsibilities
Ultrafast: a premium speed tier offering up to 300 tokens per second
Codex cloud: reusable development environments you can run from any device
Plugin extensions: a way for developers to build native experiences inside ChatGPT
ChatGPT subscription portability: using your ChatGPT allowance across partner products

The scale is larger than a typical model refresh. This was a platform push, not just a model launch.

GPT-6.1 Sol: The New Flagship Model

GPT-6.1 Sol is the model most people will care about, and its backstory is strange. OpenAI released GPT-6 Sol, then replaced it with GPT-6.1 Sol just days later. That cadence is worth noticing: the frontier model refresh cycle has compressed to the point where a flagship can be superseded within a week.

The pitch for GPT-6.1 Sol is efficiency. OpenAI describes it as a major upgrade to GPT-6 Sol with exceptionally strong performance on agentic coding, computer use, and professional work. More specifically, it delivers "near-Astra intelligence to everyone at a fifth of its standard input and output token prices."

That pricing claim is the real headline. GPT-6 Astra was OpenAI's most capable model, and it was expensive. GPT-6.1 Sol brings capabilities close to that level at a fraction of the cost, which matters most for people running heavy workloads. If you're a business or enterprise user racking up a bill on a premium model, a 5x cost reduction on comparable work changes what's affordable.

Availability is broad. GPT-6.1 Sol is available to all API, Plus, Pro, Business, Enterprise, and Edu users starting September 29, 2026. Developers can access it through the OpenAI API under the model name gpt-6.1-sol. In practical terms for the ChatGPT app, if you're on a paid plan, the new model is likely available to you now.

The Ultrafast tier is the speed counterpart. It offers up to 8x faster token generation, or 300 tokens per second, in Codex, and up to 6x in the API. GPT-6 Astra Ultrafast rolled out first, with GPT-6.1 Sol Ultrafast following soon.

OpenAI Dots: Always-On Agents

Dots are the most conceptually interesting item from DevDay 2026, and also the hardest to explain quickly. OpenAI describes them as highly capable, always-on agents built to handle everything. They get to know what matters to you, work on your behalf continuously, and take work off your plate.

The important word is "always-on." Dots aren't a chat session you open and close. They're an agent with ongoing responsibilities that persists in the background. That's a meaningful shift from the chatbot model where the AI only exists when you prompt it.

Availability is staged, and that's where people get frustrated. Dots are available on Pro and Business Premium in eligible markets. Enterprise, Edu, and Healthcare users can try the beta when their workspace admin enables it, and it's off by default. So if you're on a standard plan, Dots may not be in your account yet.

The Dots announcement pairs with ChatGPT Space, a new shared workspace where teammates, ChatGPT, and your dot collaborate on shared knowledge. Pages, a new document type built for human and agent collaboration, also falls under this umbrella. Together they describe a ChatGPT that behaves less like an app and more like a persistent team member.

Codex Cloud: Coding From Any Device

Codex cloud is the announcement most relevant to developers, and it directly addresses a limitation of local coding agents. Now developers can run Codex wherever they need it: on a computer, remotely from a phone, or in the cloud from any device.

The mechanism is reusable development environments. Instead of spinning up a fresh setup for every task, you reuse an environment that starts quickly and gives your team a shared configuration with approved settings and permissions. That's the part that matters for teams: consistent environments mean fewer "works on my machine" problems and clearer permission boundaries.

The Codex CLI also got a refresh. It now lets you start and steer tasks with your voice, adds an /agents view for delegating work and tracking multiple tasks at once, and improves everyday workflows like editing prompts and resuming sessions. Codex is available on Plus, Pro, Business, Healthcare, Education, and Enterprise plans.

There's also a code review experience in the ChatGPT desktop app. You can read summaries, explore diffs, and ask Codex about potential issues before sharing feedback on GitHub pull requests or GitLab merge requests. With automatic reviews, Codex can take a first pass in the cloud while you're away.

ChatGPT Apps and Plugins

The "chatgpt apps" story is OpenAI's play to make ChatGPT a platform. Plugin extensions let developers build their own experiences inside ChatGPT, including sidebar homes and interactive panels that work alongside the conversation.

The supporting pieces are practical:

Plugin Creator helps developers build plugins, with a redesigned submission flow
Improved ranking and recommendations help users find plugins in the directory
Sites can now host plugins, letting teammates use the same app with their own data and permissions
MCP events let plugins start automations when something happens in a connected app

The MCP events support is a specific example of the delegation theme. OpenAI's own recap describes asking ChatGPT to watch for new tasks on a project board, then read linked documents and draft a plan, even while you're away. That's an agent doing work asynchronously rather than waiting for a prompt.

Your ChatGPT Subscription Now Travels

One announcement cuts across all the rest: subscription portability. OpenAI is making it easier to use your ChatGPT plan with other tools, letting you use your allowance across 16 partners including Cognition's Devin, Notion, Vercel, T3, OpenClaw, and Dactyl.

The key detail is control. You can decide how much of your allowance each partner can use. That prevents any single connected tool from silently burning through your quota. For anyone who already pays for ChatGPT and uses several AI tools, this turns a subscription into a shared budget rather than a siloed one.

How to Try the New ChatGPT Features on Android

Most of these features arrive through the ChatGPT app rather than a separate download.

Update the ChatGPT app. Open your app store listing and install the latest version, since model and feature updates ship through app releases.
Check your plan. GPT-6.1 Sol reaches all paid tiers, but Dots is limited to Pro and Business Premium in eligible markets, with enterprise access admin-controlled.
Look for the model picker. Select GPT-6.1 Sol in the model selector if your account has access.
Explore plugins and apps. If you're on a plan that supports them, check the plugin directory for new experiences.
Review your subscription settings. If you use partner tools, look at the new allowance controls so no single app consumes your whole quota.

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A security and privacy note: faster models and always-on agents both increase the surface area where things can go wrong. Dots work on your behalf in the background, so check what permissions you've granted and which connected tools can act. OpenAI's Private Intelligence offering, including Zero Data Retention with automated safety reviews, is aimed at business users who need that assurance, and a Private Inference preview is planned for the fall.

Pros and Cons of the DevDay 2026 Lineup

DevDay 2026 is impressive on paper, but the rollout details matter as much as the features.

Pros

GPT-6.1 Sol brings near-flagship intelligence at roughly a fifth of the prior token price
Broad availability across API, Plus, Pro, Business, Enterprise, and Edu at launch
Codex cloud removes the machine dependency from AI coding work
Plugin extensions turn ChatGPT into a genuine platform
Subscription portability across 16 partners gives you a shared, controllable budget
An active model cadence means faster improvement between releases

Cons

Dots are gated to Pro and Business Premium, and off by default for enterprise
The fast GPT-6.1 Sol Ultrafast tier was still "coming soon" at announcement
The sheer number of announcements makes it hard to tell what's live versus staged
Always-on agents raise real questions about permissions and background activity
A flagship replaced within a week makes long-term planning harder

The clearest weakness is rollout confusion. OpenAI announced more than 20 things at once, and many are staged by plan, market, or admin setting.

Frequently Asked Questions

When was OpenAI DevDay 2026? September 29, 2026. OpenAI called it its biggest DevDay yet, with more than 20 announcements.
What is GPT-6.1 Sol? A major upgrade to GPT-6 Sol, positioned as near-Astra intelligence at a fifth of the standard token price. It's available to all API and paid ChatGPT tiers.
What are Dots? Always-on agents that work on your behalf continuously. They're available on Pro and Business Premium in eligible markets, with enterprise access controlled by admins.
What is Codex cloud? Codex running in the cloud with reusable development environments, so tasks can run from any device, including a phone.
Can I use my ChatGPT plan in other apps? Yes. OpenAI is letting you use your allowance across 16 partners, with controls for how much each one can use.
Why was GPT-6 Sol replaced so fast? OpenAI moved from GPT-6 Sol to GPT-6.1 Sol within about a week, reflecting a faster frontier model release cadence.